Recommendations for a Comic Newbie
 

my only experiences with comics were with the funny pages and a few Johnny the Homicidal Maniac comic books.

that was before my last trip to central florida. while i was down there i had a few hours to kill at a friends house. as soon as i took a seat he tossed issue number one of "Kick-Ass" into my lap. i was hooked. i proceeded to read the entire Kick-Ass series. after i was done with that i read every available "Sweet Tooth" comic that he had. the whole series so far, i believe, and two issues of a comic called "Supergod."

i got home and immediately downloaded a program called Comical so that i could read comics whenever i wanted. there are no comic stores anywhere near me. i wish there were, because i prefer to read on paper. anyway, i downloaded kick-ass, JTHM, and Batman: The Killing Joke and Arkham Asylum right off the bat.

now i'm stuck. i have no idea where i should go from here. if any comic readers out there would like to send some ideas my way, it would be greatly appreciated.

Kingdom Come is probably the best graphic novel in my opinion.
The Dark Knight returns
Batman: Year One

Watchmen
V for Vendetta
The Sandman (Neil Gaiman - jizz your pants). 75 issues, i think. I read the first ten and it was awesome.
Preacher. 75 issues as well. I read a few, and it was great.

kingdom come was actually on my list. seeing it posted here just reassures me that i should give it a read.

The Ultimates and Ultimates 2 were pretty kickass and definetely worth reading. Avoid Ultimates 3 like the plague though they changed creators and man did it suck.

All-Star Superman is pretty much the best classic style Superman story in years.

The nice thing about both of those is that they are set in their own continuity so they don't require knowing 40+ years of backstory.

Also, if you can find it on a Torrent site read Miracle Man by Alan Moore (and then taken over by Neil Gaiman) it predates Moore's work on Watchmen and it really is a must read for any comic fan. Unfortunately it's out of print so good luck finding the run at a decent price (hence the torrent suggestion). One word of warning in advance though, the company publishing it folded in the middle of Gaiman's run so it remains unfinished.
Still well worth reading, since it's one of the early examples of how good comic books can be.

if you've ever read kick-ass, JTHM, supergod or sweet tooth then you'd see im not yet into the super-powers sort of thing. i mean, supergod sort of falls into that category, but not really. it's about governments developing super-beings for homeland security...it goes awry.

my favorite so far, like i said, was kick ass. its about a kid who read too many comics are tries to fight crime himself. needless to say, he finds himself in a world of shit.

i may get into the super-powers thing after i read these suggestions though. i've heard that Kingdom Come and All-star superman were very great reads from the small amount of research that i've done.

I just spent $86 on Buffy comics. So far, "season 8" is my only real comic book experience...but I'm loving it. There are certainly some wtf moments, but if you're in any way a Buffy fan, I definitely recommend picking them up.

Transmetropolitan

Read it all in almost one go, just couldn't stop.

100 Bullets - crime/secret agent stuff with deviously interconnected storylines

Y The Last Man - what if a disease wiped out all the males on the planet?

Walking Dead - the Zombie genre rarely appears in such a long sustained storyline, so this definitely gets to places other Zombie stories don't

...more Alan Moore greatness:
The king of comic writers - these next few are my favourites

Promethea - prepare to witness the limitations of the comic medium obliterated

From Hell - about Jack the Ripper - this will mess you up

Top 10 - what if everyone on the planet was a superhero? How would the police force work?

i almost read this at my friends house. he had nothing but good things to say about it.

looks like i've got lots of reading to do.

I'll echo the praise for All-Star Superman, easily one of the best things I've read (comics or not) in years. Oh, if only all mainstream comics had this much imagination and wonder -- this is the perfect chaser after reading some of the grittier titles on your list.

Another Morrison/Quietly team up that is absolutely worth reading is WE3 -- it's Homeward Bound meets Watership Down meets Robocop. Household pets turned into cyborg soldiers, and its really heartbreaking. It'll take you 20 minutes to read, but the story really stuck with me.

Man how could I forget Transmet???

Alan Moore's run on Saga of the Swamp thing is a classic.

Also, try John Constantine: Hellblazer just ignore everything you saw in the shitty Keanu Reeves Constantine movie.

okay, im on issue 23 of Y-The Last Man right now. i LOVE this comic. it's an excellent read and so far its doing a damn fine job of keeping me on my toes. you never know what the hell is going to happen.

i think that im going to give Transmetropolitan, Walking Dead, Top 10, and some All*star supes a shot after this. not sure if its going to be in that order though. hell, i may even change my mind before i get around to the downloads.

The Watchmen will come shortly after.

I'm not big on superheroes. I'm more of a fantasy nerd, but I'm becoming increasingly interested in sci-fi.

I've read very little: Watchmen and a few volumes of Bone.

I'm getting volume one of the Savage Sword of Conan series soon, and will probably delve through all of that over time.

Any other recommendations in fantasy? What about sci-fi?

Just another vote for Watchment. Also, I've heard nothing but good things about Sandman

If you want to branch out and try something a little different, Deathnote manga is pretty entertaining.

From Hell

I found it hard to get into, and then I loved it, and it blew my mind in the last couple of chapters.

Yes, its about Jack the Ripper (although not a very likely theory froma historical view) but it is about so much much more.

The film that they made with Depp was just insulting.

_

I guarantee... there is something that happens towards then end that will literally blow your mind and make you re-read and re-read the previous 25 pages to get your head round it (if you are anything like me)

(to anyone who read it, I mean the scene in the office building)

---------- Post added at 10:34 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:33 PM ----------

Maus

It isnt Sci Fi